#A convincingly manipulative man with black and white morality who thinks he is in the right even though his actions beg to differ? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

empty-blog-for-lurking · 2 months

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If youre ok w sharing then i would love to hear your thoughts on lotor........ Hes such a weird guy. Dissecting him like a frog

If i get hate for this, i am blaming you/j but in all honesty i apologize if this kinda messy, as i have said it has beem awhile since i saw any of the episodes about him. Most of it is my personal interpretation and opinions of his character-

First of all i personally hate both "L0tor is evil rapist imperialist who did not have a single redeemable quality" and "L0tor is uwu poor baby who did nothing wrong", because yeah he had good intentions and he seemed to genuinely love Alura and care for Alteans but also he very much did do a lot of things Wrong. I am pretty sure a lot of his actions fall into category of Very Wrong

Lot0r to me is an absolute control freak, he has to be 10 steps ahead of everyone, he needs to be control of the situation no matter what. Whether it be through a silver tongue or by his blade (see N@rti's death, him vs White Lion). This is as much as a ruthless strategy as it is a trauma response. Being raised under Z@rkon, a father who only saw him as inferior half-bred, he had to learn survivor tactics. He will do anything to survive whether it be beg, lie, manipulate, and kill. He is a survivor of some genuinely godawful abuse he suffered for 10,000 years, combined with racism he suffered for being half altean

However this need to be in control extends to his allies and people he cares about. I am sure Lotor may have loved Alura, it doesnt change the fact that he very much abused her trust. Their entire relationship was based on a lie. He knew Alteans were still alive and not only did he not tell Alura about it he leaned into the "last survivors of Altea" for their relationship, which is why it was doomed since the beginning. And if it had not been this, then it would have been something else. Cause lying and manipulation are very much core of his character, that is how we are introduced to him

Like i see people going "Oh Lot0r could have been good if he had therapy and a hug", and i am not really not sure about it, cause like would he? Would he choose to be vulnerable and actually let his feelings out and be truthful in a an unbiased reliable way that will neither serve him in any way nor make him look better nor is a part of some machivilian scheme he cooked up because he doesnt trust the therapist he is paying? No

And thing is he does desire connection. He looks for connection in people who are similar to him. Half galran, altean survivors, Alura these are the people who he chose to get close to. He looks for similarities, people he can relate to, people who he sees as like him, people who he thinks can give him a sense of belonging. He is deeply lonely. However his desperation for control, absolute mistrust in anyone and everyone, and his inability to be actually honest dooms any relationship he'll ever have

Also this is probably just me, but for someone who is this morally complex character he has tendency to see things in black and white? Like it is His dad and empire= bad, alteans=good. He idolizes Altea to the point of seeing it as an Utopia, and this ideal was more important to him than any Alteans who are alive and with him. I also cant remember him ever caring about someone outside of the Dichotomy. Like at most i remember is after he became the emperor Lance pointing out how other planets need to be freed and he just brushed it off

Overall he gives me the "smart people dont always make good decisions, but they are good at justifying their bad ones" vibes. We dont know exactly why he decided to use alteans as batteries but i am choosing to go with my interpretation- "Lottor saw something fucked up in that future showing space whale thingy, decided the only way to solve was altean batteries except in true self fulfilling prophecy greek tragedy way it only made things worse and started a series of event that will cause the thing he saw causing real trouble a few years after his death.

Another thing! I think it should have been him being the focus of Evil Altean episode instead of A//ura. I hate that episode and everything it stands for but like if there Had to be an evil alteans episode then it should be around someone who is you know? Obsessed with Altean culture? Is big on control and manipulation? Is more geared towards big picture and "greater good" over individual? Is worried about turning into just like his galran father and so desperately wants to connect to his idealized version of his altean mother? Yeah

#empty answers #This is the type of shit that used to get you sniped from both sides of the shitty discourse back in ye old days #I probably have more thoughts but i also need to rewatch vld to have a clearer picture #Also i dont get when people say it was bad writing that he turned out traitor #Like it was handled in abhorent way but also- we are literally introduced to him manipulating an entire audience #The fuck yall mean yall thought he was genuine??#I used to like him but come on man #That was the most obvious disney twist villain if i have ever seen one #and vld writers are not smart enough to do something actually subversive #Also gonna be real with you while i do have a lot of thoughts of him i kinda also dont enjoy his character??#It is-how do i put it? A bit lame #Like the eps were going on about how he is this Most Complex Character and instead we have is-#a disney twist villain and sad anime backstory that is supposed to absolve him or something #I can think of so many villains/character that had similar aspects to him but were just Way Better #A convincingly manipulative man with black and white morality who thinks he is in the right even though his actions beg to differ?#B3los is right there #Villain who uses manipulation as a defense mechanism which only drive all their friends away? Grace monr0e and Sash Waybrigt #A tragedy who just wanted peace for his people only for things to spiral so horribly they destroyed the very people they sought to protect?#M0rdred pendrag0n hnoc my beloved <33 #A hot villain who is morally reprehensible but is really hot? M3dusa G0rgon <3 #And just. I think the problem is the writers wanted him to be all of those things and he ends up being none of them #Not to mention the plot armour. You mean to tell me he is being this obvious and yet no one suspected anything??#Yeah right. Detective!Hunk for the win!#Anyway sorry this is late and so rambly #Thanks for the ask!!!!#Anyone else reading this. This is just a personal opinion ok? No fights ok??

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oyeoyeoye · 3 years

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Alright, let’s talk about a one Kim Gaon.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. Gaon has been taught to view the world in a black and white manner, a naïve manner that we are all familiar with by now. When you think that he had primarily two people involved in his life, both with matching views(or in the snake’s case, projecting that POV), it’s obvious that they would be deeply rooted into him as well.

Just because he has committed some crimes alongside Yohan, doesn’t mean that his moral compass would just bloody disappear. Because, if you remember, Gaon always had some personal issues in those events(mostly) that, alongside Yohan’s urging, made him do all those things.

Now that we’ve cleared that, time to move onto the fun part. Episode 15.

We saw in episode 14 that Gaon exposed the live trials and betrayed Yohan. We discussed A LOT about his reasons for his actions which primarily boiled down to him wanting Yohan to live a life away from the bloody and hateful one he’s confined himself to. He had his best interests at heart. That being said, I have absolutely no FUCKING CLUE why he called Yohan a monster to his face but then defended him from the snake later.

Gaon just lost one of the most important, and arguably the most prevalent, people in his life. Man’s shattered. Vulnerable. Extremely susceptible to manipulation. His brain is going into overdrive, constantly thinking about why she died, who killed her. Revenge. He has doubts and suspicions of his own but his brain is so muddled that he cannot select a clear path to follow.

Then, he sees a light. A light that is accompanied by someone who’s offering to clear the mess and turmoil that is taking place in his head, someone who can help him find peace. That hand just so happens to belong to his mentor, someone who’s like a father to him. That makes it so much easier to believe him, to fall for his trap. It was after all, a trap that has been laid for years, wrapping around him till he has no chance to escape.

We also see him doubt that very savior of his, because deep down, he knows that Yohan isn’t a monster, that he wouldn’t go so far as to kill someone Gaon cherished so much. That alone tells us how much he understands Yohan, how much he cares for him. No matter how much his mind had been corrupted, no matter how much he had been manipulated to believe that Yohan was a bad guy, he still refused to believe that Yohan could be that cold-hearted.

Ah, but the trap had been laid so, so convincingly hadn’t it? It was impossible not to think that Yohan was the one behind it all. All the evidence pointed to him. In a moment of sheer agony, Gaon collapsed under the weight of all his emotions. Anger, betrayal and sadness flowed through him, swept him up in a wave that he just drowned, drowned and eventually sunk in.

Then he confronted Yohan, where he was torn between wanting to believe the man he loved was innocent, or to believe the evidence. The snake and Sunah arrive. He gets the shock of his life. He was used and manipulated for so long. By the person he trusted so much. He realizes, that his actions have brought pain and misery to the remaining people in his life at the same time. The surprises don’t end there, and he’s left completely broken at the end.

He feels hollow. He....doesn’t have anyone. He ruined the lives of those he cared, his life was a farce. He’s been destroyed by all sides. He doesn't want to live.

He doesn’t want to be lonely.

#the devil judge #don't be mad at him #I'm a lil upset that he didn't think as well as he normally does #but you cannot blame him #Yohan one will be up when I wake up✌️#goodnight

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aegor-bamfsteel · 4 years

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Hi Bamfsteel! Is there any actress/actors you would fancast as members of Blackfyre family? I think young Keri Russell will make a splendid Daena Targaryen, she has heart shaped face and curly blonde hair!

Hi, friendly anon! I’m actually not very good with fancasts because I don’t watch a lot of TV/movies. I mean, I’ve jokingly suggested that Dolph Lundgren should play Daemon Blackfyre, because he’s the only actor I know that is blonde and notoriously shredded. I only know about Keri Russell from her recent Star Wars role, but I agree she would be a better Daena than some other choices, as she could do her physical stunts (Daena was a rider and archer).

However, GRRM actually told his artist Amoka that in drawing some of his characters, to have an actor in a specific role in mind. Considering he was born in the 40s, these movies tend to be “older” even in black and white; some examples include: Ashara Dayne resembles Elizabeth Taylor’s Cleopatra in the 1963 film Cleopatra, Alysanne Targaryen looks like Katharine Hepburn’s Eleanor of Aquitaine from the 1968 film The Lion in Winter, and Brynden Rivers’ high cheekbones, long face, and pale hair are inspired by Max von Sydow’s appearance as Sir Antonius Block from the 1957 film The Seventh Seal. von Sydow would later play the 3-eyed Raven (Brynden as a semi-immortal greenseer) in GOT, which I’m sure GRRM loved.

I’m going to take a leaf out of GRRM’s book and do my best to fancast from some of my favorite old movies:

Laurence Olivier from 1939 Wuthering Heights as Aegor Rivers (and not just because Aegor is my most personally relatable character in the era and Sir O is one of my favorite actors). Young!Olivier has Rivers’ black hair and tall lithe figure (as shown when he stands next to Merle Oberon), but more importantly, he’s famous for playing Shakespearean characters and Byronic villains. In the film, his anger as Heathcliff is characterized not by snarling or shouting, but by terrifying, deliberate stillness with moments of violence. At the same time, he can play the part of the man in love (the .gif is him looking at Cathy), and the naive dreamer. So I feel like he’s perfect for portraying those contradictions I see in Aegor.

Britt Ekland from 1973′s The Wicker Man as Shiera Seastar. A notorious sex symbol of her day, Ekland here plays Willow, “the fairest woman on the island” of the pagan Scottish Summerisle. She’s best known for the scene where she dances naked to tempt the chaste hero Sergeant Howie (she has a touch of moral ambiguity here since Howie ‘giving in’ would’ve made him an unfit sacrifice for the cult); the scene is shot in a deliberately ethereal way to imply that she has magical powers. She has a slow smile and mischievous eyes I can imagine on Shiera.

Katharine Hepburn in 1940′s The Philadelphia Story for Daena Targaryen. If according to GRRM older!Hepburn is Alysanne for her wit. elegance, and haunted past, then I feel younger!Hepburn is Daena for her independent spirit, refusal to be tied down, athleticism, and rebelliousness. Despite her sometimes thoughtless and egotistical nature, her character has a strong sense of duty and familial love, and does end up maturing over the course of the plot. (Also, I can imagine Daena in a white nightgown breaking Baelor’s golf clubs in front of him)

It is very important that Rohanne have a Lebanese actress as a fancast, but I couldn’t find a .gif of Majida El Roumi, who is a singer but has acted in a movie (1976 The Prodigal Son Returns). (really I imagine Rohanne as my 2nd grade teacher but that doesn’t really work for faceclaims!) Her family is originally from Tyre, the inspiration for Tyrosh. I feel her round face and motherly, warm eyes are good for showing Rohanne’s softer side. Her black, curly hair was really my only 'must’ for a Rohanne fancast, but I figure Rohanne could have washed out the dye, cut it short and tried to straighten it as an attempt to assimilate into Westerosi culture.

Simonetta Stefanelli in 1972′s The Godfather Part I as young Calla Blackfyre is really the only strong fancast I have for any of the Blackfyre children. I imagine since Rohanne is Fantasy Lebanese and Daemon is Fantasy North Italian, at least some of their children might appear to be a mixture of the two, so here is an Italian actress. I headcanon Calla taking more after her mother in looks (my facial recognition is bad, but she has a similar round face, hair, and smile to Majida?) and having large, intense dark brown eyes that can make her appear sweet and innocent (she gets those dreamy eyes and fuller lips from her father). She’s mostly very serious and is shy with her smiles, but she is intelligent and dislikes when people act like they know better about her future than she does. Despite her character’s tragic status, she’s by no means a fatalist.

These are all of the fancasts I can think of right now without sounding like a complete idiot (my brain is telling me notorious pretty-boy Rudolph Valentino is a Blackfyre but I have no idea who). I’m not convinced it’s possible to fancast Daemon I Blackfyre convincingly (he has to be ‘unearthly beautiful’, shredded, long silvery-haired, have women drawn to him, be an amazing knight/military commander/loving husband, but also clever and manipulative) because his canon portrayals are so contradictory (Sworn Sword versus Twoiaf) it’s difficult to think of an actor who is associated with a role similar to his (...Clark Gable and Mutiny on the Bounty?). I welcome any criticism as, like I said, I don’t have a lot of experience with fancasts or newer films in general.

#ask #asoiaf #fancast #brynden rivers #Aegor Rivers #Daena Targaryen #Rohanne of Tyrosh #calla blackfyre #shiera seastar #Silly Things

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filmista · 6 years

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🎀 Female Characters And Performances I l❤️ve 🎞

1. Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster, The Silence Of The Lambs)

-Starling, when I told that sheriff we shouldn't talk in front of a woman, that really burned you, didn't it? It was just smoke, Starling. I had to get rid of him.

-It matters, Mr. Crawford. Cops look at you to see how to act. It matters.

Why?:

She is perhaps my all-time favorite female character and of the first ones, that I think of when I hear the phrase “strong women” in reference to films. She doesn’t go around kicking literal ass but she takes pride what she does.

She is driven and passionate about her work and even with obstacles, she believes in herself. Which isn’t to say that she isn’t vulnerable or scared at times, she is. But rather than beat herself up about it or suppress she eventually learns to overcome it. Or rather work around it and draws strength from it and in the end shows that real strength isn’t not feeling fear, it isn’t being emotionless or numb it is continuing in spite of it.

2. Amy Dunne (Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl)

“It’s a very difficult era in which to be a person, just a real, actual person, instead of a collection of personality traits selected from an endless Automat of characters.” ― Gillian Flynn, Gone Girl

Why?:

Because she is one of the most complex female characters in modern literature and cinema. It’s incredibly easy to write her off as a female psychopath or a crazy bitch. While I don’t doubt that she might have mental problems, the film also shows us what might have caused some of her problems (the relationship with her parents, the pressure of living up to being Amazing Amy).

All of this aside, she’s just an incredibly fun and interesting character to watch. No matter what you might think of her morally.

There’s a phrase in the book that goes if I remember correctly something like this: “Amy likes to play god when she’s not happy. Old Testament God.” And yes, she’s incredibly pissed off for a large part of the film and does loads of scary, crazy shit throughout the film... all motivated by her absolutely astounding smartness and cunningness.

Personally, I wouldn’t say I agree with everything Amy does (I would be crazy if I did) but I do understand where some of her anger comes from and I even sympathize with her in a few instances in the film.

Point is though there should be more of these difficult, morally complex women in film. Sadly sometimes when women are unlikeable or difficult in a film we tend to as an audience dismiss them as “a crazy bitch”, or worse sometimes equate the actress behind the character to her on-screen persona.

3. Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver, Alien)

“Did IQs just drop sharply while I was away?”

Why?:

Instead of naming the obvious reasons which are her stubbornness and overall badassery, determination and courage. What I love about her is the fact that she’s not really always likable, she’s quite moody and cranky and even plain bitchy sometimes.

She speaks her mind even when that doesn’t always make her popular with those around her. A not always likable female lead isn’t so unusual nowadays but Ripley really was one of the first ones in a big blockbuster. And she’s a cat lady.

Also if I ever get a cat again, I want to name it Jonesy or if it’s a black one Salem.

4. Shelly Johnson (Mädchen Amick, Twin Peaks)

“I’m a waitress in a diner. I’ve never been compared to a goddess before.”

Why?:

Okay, first of all, I’ll admit to having a small crush on Shelly (like probably many a Twin Peaks fan) but she’s more than just a sexy waitress. We all know she married an absolute piece of shit of a man, and when we see her at home she is almost always silent and completely submissive out of fear.

But then we see her at the diner, and she transforms: she’s charismatic, flirty, bubbly and just insanely loveable overall. What I think makes her a great character though is that there are also hints at rougher and darker edges.

In Episode 4 of season 1, after Laura’s funeral (after Leland falls into the coffin and sobs hysterically, which yes I thought was quite hysterical) we see her making fun of Leland in the diner in front of a group of admiring old men. There’s an interesting side to her that seems to want to bully almost, perhaps as a way to get what she is experiencing at home out of her system.

5. Mademoiselle De Poitiers ( Helen Morse, Picnic At Hanging Rock)

-Ah! Now I know.

-What do you know?

I know that Miranda is a Botticelli angel.

Why?:

Because she is for her time (which was not always easy for women) an incredibly sunny, optimistic and kind person. While everyone is telling the girls at the school off or being strict with them she treats them with respect and shows an interest in their “teenage world”.

While she might seem like a conventional and quite traditional female character, I adore that she seems like she genuinely enjoys her feminity. You look at her and see a woman who you can tell simply loves and revels in flirting and romance and it’s incredibly charming performance to watch.

6. Laura (Gene Tierney, Laura)

“You forced me to give you my word. I never have been and I never will be bound by anything I don't do of my own free will.”

Why?:

I think it’s a remarkable film for its time. Laura is portrayed (once she appears) as an incredibly charismatic, alluring and smart woman that values her privacy and independence and as loving and being successful in her career.

The twist though is that for a seemingly very strong woman she has a very toxic friendship with a male friend who’s extremely jealous and possessive of her. He has ruined countless of her romantic relationships because no man is ever good enough for his Laura.

Finally, she dumps him as she realizes his manipulation and stays with the man she’d fallen in love with, which might seem like a conventional ending but I love how Laura, in the end, takes control of her own happiness and by extension her life.

7. Vanessa Lutz (Reese Witherspoon, Freeway)

I know there’s a lot of sick guys that get hard… thinkin’ about messin’ women up. Hell, that’s all you ever see on TV. But when a guy goes and does that for real like you were plannin’ on doin’ – I was just trying to scare you. You had your turn to talk! I think it’s only fair to let me get my two cents in. You’re absolutely right. Sorry. Please, go on. But when a guy goes and hurts someone who never hurt them… that makes him a criminal first and a sick guy second. It’s like being sick has to take second place to being crooked.

Why?:

Reese Witherspoon’s plentiful and colorful swearing, as well as her unapologetic aggressiveness. She’s a trashy and violent female character, and I always find it incredibly interesting to take a look at female characters that are perpetrators of violence and what motivated them.

An interesting thing is also that she is supposedly a morally despicable, white trash and uneducated character but actually has a better understanding of and less twisted sense of morality than any of the characters that are supposedly well adjusted, refined and educated people. Some of her blunt, often shocking comments hit the nail on the head on several problems in American and general society.

8. Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren, The Birds)

“I thought you knew! I want to go through life jumping into fountains naked, good night!”

Why?:

She’s my all-time favorite Hitchcock heroine. What I love about her particularly as a character is her spontaneity, her assertiveness, sass, and humor but above all her perseverance and genuine strength (though she’s occasionally prone to the dramatic sighing or shrieking women just sometimes did in older films ).

A delight for me in the film is that it turns a common romantic trope around: she is the one that first sets her sights on the man and consequently chases and gets with him.

She also consistently stands up for herself, point in case: the scene in the diner in which a local accuses her of causing the bird’s irrational and unexplainable behavior. I really believe she’s one of Hitchcock's most underestimated heroines and in my opinion also written with a depth that proves he was not a misogynist as is so often believed.

9. Wendy (Shelley Duvall, The Shining)

“You son of a bitch! You did this to him, didn't you! How could you! How could you!”

Why?:

While controversial just like Tippi Hedren’s performance in The Birds, I absolutely love Shelley Duvall’s work in The Shining and I think her performance is often very wrongly looked down upon.

Personally, I always thought film Wendy was stronger than book Wendy her performance is often dismissed as hysterical, over the top and she’s also called a dumb character very frequently.

In contrast to Nicholson’s performance though she’s pretty calm. What I love about the performance is the very subtle and slow changes in her attitude. People often find her a weak character, because she stays with her abusive husband I don’t think however that it is that unrealistic.

People in real life sometimes also tend to stay in these relationships until something drastic happens that forces them to really evaluate the situation. Her husband has moments where he convincingly plays at pretending to be the “nice and good husband” and so she chooses to buy it.

However once in the hotel, as Jack becomes increasingly mad she realizes her husband was never a good man, to begin with, and that she has reason to be very, very afraid of him and Duvall absolutely illustrates that fear brilliantly. At this point, instead of walking on eggshells as she did initially she realizes she and her son must simply get away from that man if they are to live.

I see how some people might not like her a character, it does feel like she screams a lot sometimes, but I find it incredible that even in her fear she still soldiers for herself and her child.

10. Ana (Isabelle Adjani, Possession)

“We are all the same. Different words, different bodies, different versions. Like insects! Meat!”

Why?:

Very simply put, Adjani’s utterly crazy and unhinged performance. It’s also a fantastic depiction of a slow and finally full blown descend into madness. What I love most of all is that while it may easy to dismiss her as a “psycho, hysteric” kind of female character she is not completely that there’s more nuance to it.

The film shows that the unhappiness in her marriage and the hints of abuse in it played a huge role as well. A showcase of the fact that love can sometimes truly drive us mad and make us lose ourselves.

Some fictional ladies that didn’t quite make this particular list, but might make appearances on another one:

Thelma (Geena Davis, Thelma & Louise)

-It’s not like I killed anybody, for God’s sake!

-Thelma!

Grace (Brie Larson, Short Term 12)

-Grace, you are a line staff. It's not your job to interpret tears. That's what our trained therapists are here for.

-Then your trained therapists don't know shit.

Celine (Julie Delpy, Before Trilogy)

“I always feel this pressure of being a strong and independent icon of womanhood, and without making it look like my whole life is revolving around some guy. But loving someone, and being loved means so much to me. We always make fun of it and stuff. But isn’t everything we do in life a way to be loved a little more?”

#since I get asked about this a lot #I decided to make a list with some of my faves #I just realised after how much horror is in here #female characters #favourite female characters #women on film #movies #films #horror #favorites #cinema #filmista

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